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Air-Launched GPR Evaluation for Rapid Assessment of MoDOT Bridge Decks |
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| Status | Complete View Final Report: PDF |
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| Sequential Number | R369 | ||||
| Identification Number | 00044329 | ||||
| Matching Research Agency |
Missouri Department of Transportation |
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| Principal Investigator |
Lesley H. Sneed |
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| Student Involvement |
2 graduate students (from Departments of Civil Engineering and Geological Engineering) |
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| Project Objective | The objective of this study identified by the Matching Research Agency (MoDOT) is to demonstrate the utility of the air-launched GPR tool in rapidly evaluating the condition of MoDOT bridge decks and confirm that it can be implemented as part of a long-term program that enables faster, better, and more cost-effective bridge deck assessments. Additional research objectives that will be investigated by the researchers as part of this study are to compare and contrast the results acquired using air-launched GPR in terms of accuracy and ease in evaluating the with those acquired using ground coupled GPR with existing and emerging noninvasive imaging technologies in terms of accuracy and ease in evaluating the existing condition of bridge decks. A comprehensive comparison will be accomplished including evaluation of data acquired from the entire suite of bridge decks investigated in this study. | ||||
| Project Abstract |
The overarching goal of this study is to demonstrate that advanced nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) techniques can be rapidly, effectively, and economically implemented as part of routine MoDOT bridge deck surveys to determine the general condition of bridge decks. The use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) is the focus of this study because it is well-suited to rapidly determine the relative condition of the deck in order to identify areas of degradation and corrosion. Although ground coupled GPR is appropriate for high quality, comprehensive bridge deck evaluation, it can require several hours to acquire the data. Air-launched GPR data, on the other hand, can be acquired more rapidly, although the quality of the data is less accurate than the data acquired by ground coupled GPR. In this study, air-launched GPR data will be utilized for general bridge deck condition assessment and reconnaissance to identify those bridges requiring a more detailed investigation, which will help MoDOT optimize the use of limited resources and reduce the cost of bridge deck evaluation. The results of the deck evaluation conducted using air-launched GPR will enable better, more cost-effective decisions regarding whether a more comprehensive bridge deck investigation should be conducted on a given bridge. The proposed research will also serve to educate and train multi-disciplinary students and future engineers in this technology. |
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Relationship to other Research/Projects |
This study extends the work of a separate study (MoDOT Award TRyy1308) focused on NDT/NDE techniques for comprehensive bridge deck assessment. |
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Transportation-Related Keywords |
bridge decks, NDT/NDE | ||||
Technology Transfer Activities |
Results of this study will be disseminated through a presentation and poster at the CIES/NUTC conference at Missouri S&T and at least one technical peer-reviewed journal article. |
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Project Deliverables |
The deliverables produced from this project for the Matching Research Agency will be a report for each bridge deck investigated that compiles the field investigation results, and a final report to the Matching Research Agency and NUTC that summarizes the findings of all decks included in this project. The final report will include an evaluation of the utility of the air-launched GPR tool in terms of effectiveness and man-hours required in evaluating similar bridge decks using this technique. This report will provide the basis and data to establish the value of this methodology for possible use in evaluating future bridges. The final report will also summarize the findings from comparisons of air-launched and the ground coupled GPR data previously acquired by the researchers.. | ||||
Anticipated Benefits |
The results of the deck evaluation conducted using air-launched GPR will enable better, more cost-effective decisions regarding whether a more comprehensive bridge deck investigation should be conducted on a given bridge. Using the data set acquired, innovative processing techniques and can be explored by the researchers to advance the state of the art in bridge deck evaluation. The proposed research will also serve to educate and train multi-disciplinary students and future engineers in these technologies. |
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Milestones |
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